CFTC to Host Cryptocurrency CEO Forum to Discuss Digital Asset Market Pilot Program

May 31. For today’s widely discussed topic surrounding a potential partner for Binance’s stock trading division, BlockBeats has put together a quick overview of Alpaca’s key details: Founded around 2017, Alpaca is based in San Mateo, California. It’s a leading player in the brokerage-as-a-service (BaaS) space, helping global partners seamlessly integrate U.S. stock trading functionality. Its current partners include Kraken, SBI Securities, and Thai financial investment app Dime!, among others. This past January, Alpaca raised $150 million in a funding round that valued the company at $1.15 billion. The round was led by Drive Capital, with participation from Citadel Securities, crypto exchange Kraken, and Opera Tech Ventures—the venture capital arm of French bank BNP Paribas. As part of the deal, Alpaca also secured a $40 million credit line. Earlier reports have suggested Binance may add U.S. stock trading, with Alpaca set to provide custody and clearing services for the offering.

May 31, overnight and into this morning, the news that Binance is adding stock trading sparked excitement across the crypto market, sending BNB prices surging steadily. This morning, that news got official confirmation, extending the rally as Bitcoin punched through the $74,000 mark once again. Notably, rival token HYPE dipped briefly overnight but bounced back this morning, inching closer to the $70 level. Per HTX market data: - Bitcoin is currently trading at $74,182, up 0.35% in 24 hours; - BNB is priced at $725.86, with a 24-hour gain of 4.60%; - HYPE is at $69.168, up 5.96% over the past day. Additional gains are also seen among Binance ecosystem tokens: “Binance Life” jumped over 17% in 24 hours, ASTER rose more than 10%, and CAKE added 9.2% in the same period.

WASHINGTON, May 31 (AXIOS) — A senior U.S. administration official and another source familiar with the matter revealed that during a Friday meeting in the White House Situation Room, President Donald Trump requested multiple revisions to the proposed agreement his envoy reached with an Iranian representative, according to details shared. Two U.S. officials told AXIOS that Trump is eager to finalize the pact soon but has pushed to strengthen several key provisions critical to his priorities, especially those related to Iran’s nuclear materials. Trump’s demands have triggered a fresh round of negotiations between the two sides, a process that could take several days, the sources said. Trump has instructed his team to amend draft language on Iran’s nuclear program. The current memorandum of understanding (MOU) includes only Iran’s commitment not to seek nuclear weapons, with no specific concessions beyond that currently outlined. The MOU sets a 60-day window to negotiate both Iran’s n

May 31: Per HyperInsight monitoring, Loracle has closed out its short positions on BTC, LIT, TON, and VVV between last night and this morning. However, its single largest short position—HYPE—is still being unwound gradually, with 1.518 million HYPE remaining, valued at approximately $105 million. Additionally, Loracle has opened new long positions, including 10x leveraged ZEC, 5x leveraged ASTER, and TON. These long positions continue to grow in size.

May 31 – According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, a crypto whale deposited 3.12 million USDC amid a period of elevated market prices, purchasing 45,887 HYPE tokens at an average price of $68.09.

May 31 — A 53-year-old Chinese real estate company owner identified as Yang Weixin was kidnapped in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, per local outlet KohsantepheapDaily. On May 30, the suspects used the victim’s phone to demand a $2 million ransom in cryptocurrency from his wife. When the payment was not received, the victim was killed, and his body was left in a vehicle. Surveillance footage captures three suspects forcibly abducting Yang from the parking lot of his residence on the night of May 29. Cambodian authorities have classified the case as a fatal kidnapping for ransom and are pursuing further inquiries.